I'm Waking Up (I Feel It In My Bones)
by XSilverLiningsX
Summary: [Modern Superheroes AU, Part 13: Sequel] The three-year-long upheaval of the Royal Court and the restructuring of Rocheste's government provided more than enough time for the Fomorian Army to retreat, rebuild their forces, and then execute a series of calculated attacks at the humans.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey honeybee, you got a minute?" Hurk sauntered out of the bathroom, his tanned skin almost pink from his hot shower and his hair spiked up wildly. The towel around his hips looked just about ready to fall off.

"Yeah." Dressed in just his boxers, Kai looked up from where he was sitting on their unmade bed and browsing reddit on his laptop.

"There's something wrong with my new phone." With a smirk, Hurk picked up the phone from the top of the dresser and tossed it over in the direction of the bed.

Kai raised an eyebrow when the phone landed half a foot short from the bed but leaned over to pick it up anyways. "What is it?"

"It doesn't have your number."

"Really." Kai rolled his eyes as he swiped at the phone's screen and input the password ( _his birthday, what a surprise_ ).

"Just because we're married doesn't mean I _have_ to stop." Hurk flopped onto the bed next to Kai, his lopsided smile positively radiant as he slid the laptop off his husband's lap to set it off to the side.

"I was working." Kai didn't really bother to stop Hurk from scooting closer and wrapping his arms around him.

"You call trolling subreddits _'work'_?"

"It requires time and research, so yes." A warm nose dug into his neck, and Kai sighed as he was basically manhandled into a full-body hug. His face ended up being pressed up against Hurk's chest.

"Boring. We've got…" Hurk paused in his nuzzling to glance at the LED alarm clock to his right. "Two hours before the brats need to be picked up from practice. I say we do something more exciting."

Kai's reply was muffled, but he did manage to wriggle his hands over to Hurk's backside to squeeze out his agreement.

* * *

Kai had just finished polishing his violin when his phone rang, the cheery tone of some terrible pop song alerting him to the fact that it was Lynn.

"Hey."

"Did you and Dad have to leave for a call or something? We've been waiting out here for an hour!" Even through the tinny speakers, Lynn's upset was obvious. He could hear the faint sounds of Sylas repetitively kicking a soccer ball at a wall in the background.

"What? Hurk left an hour ago to pick you two up." Kai set down his violin and pulled on his socks.

"Well, he's not here. I tried calling him three times, but all I got was his voicemail."

"Let me try to reach him, his new phone might be glitching out. I'll be over in ten."

"Okay then." With that, Lynn cut the call.

Kai slipped on his casual sneakers and grabbed his keys. While walking to his car (his motorcycle having long since been traded in), he tried calling Hurk.

" _Heya, you've reached Hurk's voicemail. I can't answer at the moment so just leave a message after the beep and I'll be sure to call back as soon as possible!_ "

With a frown, Kai cut the call before it could actually go to voicemail and then gunned the engine. His guts were telling him that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite place what it was, exactly.

Fifteen minutes later, Lynn and Sylas were buckled up in the back seats. The teenaged girl, looking a bit sunburned, had her arms crossed over his chest as she looked out of the window with a pout. The grass-stained teenaged boy, on the other hand, had conked out the moment the car started moving.

"So where's Dad?"

"I got his voicemail too."

It wasn't like Hurk to not take any of their calls or somehow forget to pick up the kids from soccer practice. There definitely wasn't an emergency call-in from the CBDC either, as Kai would've heard of it first.

"Something's not right." Lynn's eyes narrowed as she glared out of the window.

Kai said nothing as he pulled into the driveway of their house. The other car was still missing, so Hurk hadn't returned at all…

His phone rang, this time the standard CBDC company ringtone. Kai answered it as he followed the two teenagers into the house and kicked the door shut behind him.

"Speaking."

"I need you to come in right now." Captain Aodhan's voice sounded tense, as if he was withholding information.

"Yes, sir." Kai held back a sigh as he opened the front door again. First Hurk was missing, and now he was being called in on his day off?

* * *

Feeling every part of his body going numb and his mind grinding to a halt, Kai blankly stared _not_ at the nightmarish crime scene ( _totally wrecked car, scattered broken glass, blood streaked in all directions_ ) in front of him, but at the matching, blood-crusted platinum wedding band he was holding in the palm of his hand.

"We can't be sure that all of the… remains are human, or even fomor, until the lab results come back. That will take at least a week. At the moment, we don't know anything about motives or the possible suspects. I have all of my contacts in the Royal Police working on this case." A gloved hand landed on his shoulder. Kai's gaze tore from the ring and over to Captain Aodhan, the older man looking as if he'd aged more than a decade in the past few years.

Kai's hand curled over the ring tightly. The look in his eyes turned positively chilling.

"Effective immediately, I'm putting you and all of our active agents on lockdown at Headquarters. Your children, as well. Safety is paramount, and we don't know if this was meant to be a one-time incident or a prelude to further attacks."


	2. Chapter 2

How long had he been here?

Everything **_burned_**.

Every breath.

In.

Out.

 **Wheeze.**

In.

Out.

"It is ready to undergo the ritual, Chief Priest."

Glowing blue eyes—

"Maios, bring me my scythe."

"Yes, Master!"

Fluttering black hoods—

"Meses, the emblem."

"Here it is, Chief Priest!"

"It will be interesting to know if a berserker can survive this. It will become a useful asset, if true."

The tip of something deadly sharp touched his exposed, paralyzed right eye.

Too much red.

Pain.

Screaming—

He was screaming, straining against too-tight restraints—

Blackness, ugly and foul, spread inwards and curled lovingly through his mind and body.

He ** _burned_**.

Memories shrank back as far away from the gnawing, hungry taint as possible, trying to hide in the deepest of depths.

 _You sappy oaf, of course I love yo—_

 _Dad, can we get this? Plea—_

 _You're too slow, gra—_

 **Who?**

He stilled against his restraints, hardly breathing through the fire in his lungs.

Rotting teeth wrapped in dark shadows smiled down at him.

"Do you know your name?"

 _H—_

 **"…** **?"**

A ghostly chuckle.

"You are to replace our fallen warlord, at the side of our beloved Queen."

 **"** **Queen?"**

"Our Queen weeps freely until we have avenged her son, who was mercilessly slain by the humans."

 **"** **Humans."** He snarled at the word. The blankness of his mind was comforting, in a way. The emblem in his right eye warmed happily, easing any of his pain, at the rage beginning to stir from within. Black smoke twisted and curled around him before settling into the form of chitinous plated armor that stopped just below his head.

"Yes, humans." Alteron the Chief Priest gestured for his underlings to remove the restraints and then turned to the silent figure standing guard at the door. "Akanan, bring this good news to the Princess and Commander Ikrium. We will have our weapon soon."

The figure wrapped from head to toe in bandages and cloth bowed respectfully and exited.

"Maios, the mask."

The smaller shadow floated over to the Chief Priest with the grotesque muzzle in hand.

The mask clamped onto his face and wrapped around his head, keeping him from opening his mouth any more than a scant quarter of an inch.

"You _will_ serve us, Dark Knight."

 **"** **Yes."**

With his right eye visibly glowing crimson in the dim lighting, the Dark Knight bared his teeth in a grotesque parody of a smile.


End file.
